Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Democratic Party: Fighting For More of the Same

For all of the articles about the turmoil in the Republican
Party over Trump’s successes in the primaries so far, I am much more concerned
about what’s going on in the Democratic Party between Clinton and Sanders. The
Party (the DNC, celebrity Democrats, the Whitehouse, the media, etc.) has
already put the crown on Clinton’s head and is working overtime to make sure it
stays there. From shady shenanigans at polling places to national headlines
blaring Clinton’s inevitable victory to the Democratic National Committee’s
unabashed support for Hillary, the Dem establishment is doing everything it can
to make Bernie Sanders go away.

I find this all very troubling. Sanders truly represents
what the Democratic Party should be about, but our leaders have been
brainwashed over the years by Republicans into believing that only centrist,
“realistic” (tough on crime, militaristic, fiscally conservative) Democrats can
win elections. Sanders is already proving them wrong, and that’s making them
very uncomfortable.

Since Ronald Reagan won the presidency 36 years ago, the
Democratic Party has shifted to the right, believing wrongly that if you can’t
beat ‘em, join ‘em. Yes, we’ve won four Presidential elections since then, but
look at the state of our nation. George Bush took this country down a dark and
dangerous road after 9/11, and instead of trying to clean up the mess as he
said he would, Obama has embraced it. Ever since he’s been on the national
stage, Obama has talked like a liberal, but acted like a centrist Republican.
Sanders is the only candidate who sounds and
acts like a Democrat.

The Democratic establishment should be 100 percent behind
Sanders, instead they are repeating the strategy that Bill Clinton and Obama
used to win their elections: talk like a liberal until elected, then play it
down the middle. Hillary is the
establishment choice, the “safe” choice, the choice that Wall Street and K
Street can live with. With its actions this election cycle, the Democratic
Party continues to willingly disenfranchises not only the left wing of the
party, but other Democrats who simply want real change instead of Clinton II,
with the attitude of, “Where else you gonna go?” The two major political
parties have way too much say about who sits in the White House and it will
take a major public upheaval to break their stranglehold.